Saturday, January 4, 2014

On A Cold Winter Night...Crabmeat And Roasted Red Pepper Quiche

After all the holiday food of the last month and a half, I was ready for something new and radically different to make and post...something without the word pie, cookie, leftovers or peppermint bark. Looking through my drafts for future posts, I came across this quiche. I looked no more.

This recipe has been in my archives for a long time, waiting for Spring and a ladies lunch. Together with the Mandarin Salad, and its slightly sweet and sour dressing, it is the perfect menu for the Ladies Who Lunch any time of the year. Instead, it was made yesterday, for dinner, on the coldest day we have had so far this winter.

Although there were no ladies in attendance this time, except for us five chicks, we really enjoyed it. Under the lights of the Christmas tree, a roaring fire and The Remains of the Day on TV it was a great menu for a quiet Friday night. If you have "real men" in the family who don't eat quiche, call it a pie. They'll bite.

Tomorrow we have Season Four of Downton Abbey and the possibility of snow here in North Georgia. If you want something lite and special for dinner, run to the store and grab what you need. Don't forget a good bottle of white wine, preferably a Sauvignon Blanc, although a French Chardonnay would do well if you are serving the Mandarin Salad.

Make sure you buy fresh crabmeat, although you can use Lump which is more reasonably priced than the Jumbo Lump. That is what I used and it was perfect. The recipe calls for six ounces but the container I bought had eight and I used all of it.

There is a recipe for the pie crust below but Mrs. Smith's ready made crust will save you lots of time. As to the roasted red peppers, ditto, but buy good ones in a jar. We've cooked enough this past holiday season and a few short cuts here and there are well deserved.

Preparation

Bake prepared dough at 375 degrees for 15 to 20
minutes, until lightly browned. Patch any small holes with leftover
dough. Cool.

2.

Set red pepper in the flames of a stovetop gas
burner turned to high. Turn with tongs until skin is blackened, 5 to 7
minutes, then cool. Peel, remove seeds and veins, and slice into
1/4-inch strips.

3.

Make the custard: in mixing bowl, beat eggs,
mustard, salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne. Whisk in cream and
herbs. Set aside.

4.

Set tart pan on a baking sheet. Spread crab meat
evenly over bottom of pastry. Arrange red pepper strips over crab meat.
Beat custard once more and carefully pour into tart shell. Bake at 375
degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, until top is golden and custard is set.
Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Basic short-crust pastry

Ingredients

145 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter (1/4 pound), cut in 1/8-inch pieces

3 tablespoons ice water

Preparation

Put flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or
food processor. Add butter and quickly cut it into flour until mixture
resembles coarse meal.

Add ice water and mix briefly, about 30 seconds, to
form a soft dough. Remove dough, shape into a thick disk, wrap in
plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to cool
room temperature before rolling.

To roll, lightly flour dough and counter. Roll out
gradually, periodically letting dough rest for a moment before
continuing. This makes rolling easier and will keep dough from shrinking
back during baking.

Roll dough to a thin round approximately 13 inches
in diameter, then trim to make a 12-inch circle (refrigerate and save
trimmings for patching). Lay dough loosely into a 9 1/2-inch fluted tart
pan with removable bottom, letting it relax a bit. Fold overlap back
inside to make a double thickness, then press firmly against the pan so
the finished edge is slightly higher than the pan. Refrigerate or freeze
for an hour before pre-baking.

I agree. This is perfect for after all we've indulged in during the holidays. I'm so glad we can find good crab meat here. It makes a big difference. I hope you're stocked up well and enjoy staying inside & taking it easy if the snow comes. That would make it a treat for me instead of my usual crazy schedule.Sam

Have you heard about the new fresh seafood market very close to us who live on the lake? ATLANTIC EXPRESS SEAFOOD on Hwy 9 off exit 12 of 400 Heading south, turn right off exit 12 and drive to Rt. 9 and turn left. It's on the right shortly in a strip shopping center. The owner's brother lives in Maine and ships fresh lobsters. They also have crab meat and lots of other seafood

This looks and sounds fabulous. I will be trying this recipe very soon. I LOVE a good quiche and this one fits the bill. Thankfully I am fortunate to have fresh crab from the Gulf readily available. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

This sounds perfect with a roaring fire and good TV viewing. Quiche is my go to meal when I am tired of all else. I missed Downton Abbey last night, but have set the VCR to record it when it is repeated and for the whole season. Our area of Florida will have temps in the 20s with wind chills near 6 degrees. What is going on? Hope you are staying warm.

We are going down to 6 degrees tonight. It's in the teens right now. When the dogs AND THE CAT don't want to go out, Baby it's cold outside. Going down to see Mother in Miami this weekend so something to look forward to. DA was okay last night, you didn't miss much. Be happy you are down there.